I need advice on new sprint phone

[oslama]

Sprint is giving me a $50 upgrade discount because they messed up in billing. Instead of giving me $5 off for switching to Ebill, they added the insurance to my Ebill, so for the last 3 months I have been paying for the insurance which i do not need. They "THOUGHT" it was an "ACCOUNT CHANGE", when i switched to Ebill in April, my upgrade period.

I have the samsung M520. I like the slider and backlit keypad, plus the minimalist silver/chrome looks good, but need a keyboard and larger screen for texting, so i am looking for a new phone.

I have narrowed it down to these phones (listed by preference)

Samsung Exclaim: similar to my current phone but w/added keyboard. plus i can reuse my accessories. PRO: solid feel and backlight for key board and numeric pad CON: it comes in 2 blah (fruity) colors.

Samsung ACE: I originally wanted this one but did not get due to the price but its cheaper now since the ACE II is releasing by end of year. I like a PDA phone that is pc compatible / syncable i.e .windows mobile, email and media. I also want (can I?) to use pocket pc 2k2/2k3 apps that i had on my Ipaq. I can also reuse accessories. PRO: smartphone w/more functionality. sim card for international use or carrier switch (possibly ATT) CON: the usual issues and pain associated with winmo and XP oses.No mSDHC support so cannot use mSD card larger than 2gb----> possible deal breaker.

Motorola Q9c: similar to the ace. PRO: extended battery, winmo, more robust when compared with Ace or BB. CON: price, minisd will be another memory format to deal with

BB curve 8330: everyone that has one likes it. PRO: Its different than others and something new to learn ( ie OS and trackball controls). CON: its different hence maybe frustrating during learning curve (HA HA PUN). placement of cards slots behind the battery. I will need new accessories.

BB 8830: similar to curve 8330. PRO: dual mode (gsm and cdma) CON: price, no camera and placement of cards slots behind the battery.

Others, not sure and have not heard any good reviews.

Palm Centro: small and not sure if palm is going to be viable since Palm OS is dead and WEB OS is new/experimental. Besides, its a chick phone.

Samsung Rant and Highnote: Rant has issues and do not like Highnote's looks.

Sanyo 2700: cheap in price and quality

HTC smartphones are out my price range and the Instinct requires data plan.

The last option is to drop sprint and go with ATT. My sister has a multiline account and i can use my brother in law's old iphone.

 

[secretanchitman]

to be honest, sprints phone selection kind of sucks. my family has been with them for 14-15 years and while sprint used to be on the cutting edge of phones back in the day, somehow thats all changed within recent years.

first off, what are you paying monthly? since you said htc is out of your price range and that the instinct requires a data plan, that means the palm pre and BBs are out too, because they need either a data plan or the BB plan, respectively. as for the other phones, they all seem like pretty much a side grade to what you have (and you have a pretty capable and good phone too). while the pros seem good on each phone, the cons that they have are pretty major for you (it seems like), so i would honestly just wait until the end of the year when sprint has their new lineup of phones. sometimes, best buy has special deals going on, like the $99 palm pre right now. however, it requires a $60 everything plus plan...

on the flip side, wouldnt it be cheaper to go to ATT and pay 9.99 for an additional line and use your bro-in-laws old iphone?

 

[oslama]

My GF and I are on the old indvidual share plan from @2005/2007. Its no longer offered.

700 minutes $49.99 + 1line $9.99+$5 texting (250 text limit, I think).

the current equivelent w/texting.
Talk for Family
Let your voice be heard with these voice-only shared plans.
This plan includes
Talk: Unlimited mobile to mobile, night calling and weekends starting at 7 p.m., nationwide long distance and no roaming charges
Lines 1-2 included. Lines 3-5 are $9.99/mo./line
Unlimited Nights & Weekends starting at 7pm! - $0.00
Nights and Weekends starting at 6PM - $10.00
Anytime Minutes Monthly Price Additional Anytime Minutes Lines
700 $69.99 45¢/min 2 3 4 5

Its seems Sprint is upping the monthly fee by $10 every upgrade cycle.

 

[zerocool84]

Originally posted by: secretanchitman
first off, what are you paying monthly? since you said htc is out of your price range and that the instinct requires a data plan, that means the palm pre and BBs are out too, because they need either a data plan or the BB plan, respectively. as for the other phones, they all seem like pretty much a side grade to what you have (and you have a pretty capable and good phone too). while the pros seem good on each phone, the cons that they have are pretty major for you (it seems like), so i would honestly just wait until the end of the year when sprint has their new lineup of phones. sometimes, best buy has special deals going on, like the $99 palm pre right now. however, it requires a $60 everything plus plan...

Yea the good phones he wants require a data plan and he said he doesn't want a data plan.